lung cancer

May 7, 2020

Study finds AI can categorize cancer risk of lung nodules

by Tom Wilemon
Computed tomography scans for people at risk for lung cancer lead to earlier diagnoses and improve survival rates, but they can also lead to overtreatment when suspicious nodules turn out to be benign.
A study published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that an artificial intelligence strategy can correctly assess and categorize these indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs). When compared to the conventional risk models clinicians currently use, the algorithm developed by the team of researchers in a very large dataset (15,693 nodules) reclassified IPNs into low-risk or high-risk categories in over a third of cancers and benign nodules.
“These results suggest the potential clinical utility of this deep learning algorithm to revise the probability of cancer among IPNs aiming to decrease invasive procedures and shorten time to diagnosis,” said Pierre Massion, MD, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Medicine at Vanderbilt University, the study’s lead author.
Currently, clinicians refer to guidelines issued by the American College of Radiology and the American College of Chest Physicians. Adherence to these guidelines can be variable, and how patient cases are classified can be subjective. With the goal of providing clinicians with an unbiased assessment tool, the researchers developed an algorithm based on datasets from the National Lung Screening Trial, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Oxford University Hospital. Their study is the first to validate a risk stratification tool on multiple independent cohorts and to show reclassification performance that is significantly superior to existing risk models.
With IPNs, clinicians are often faced with the dilemma of weighing whether to advise a patient to undergo an invasive surgical procedure, which may be unnecessary, against a watch-and-wait strategy, which may result in delaying needed cancer treatment. A definitive diagnosis of an IPN can take up to two years.
Better assessment tools are needed by clinicians as screenings for patients at risk for lung cancer increase. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and globally. The overall five-year survival rate is 21.7%, but it is much greater (92%) for those patients who receive an early diagnosis of stage IA1 non-small cell cancer. n

By Tom Wilemon
April 9, 2020

Study tracks genomics of lung tumor behavior

A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors.

By Tom Wilemon
February 13, 2020

Advocacy group’s gift boosts lung cancer research efforts

An advocacy group for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive lung cancer has awarded a $500,000 grant dedicated to overcoming treatment resistance to the cancer.

By Tom Wilemon
yogurt
October 28, 2019

High fiber, yogurt diet associated with lower lung cancer risk

A diet high in fiber and yogurt is associated with a reduced risk for lung cancer, according to a study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.

By Tom Wilemon
July 8, 2019

Clinical study tests drug that may prevent cancer metastasis

A clinical study of a drug that may block cancer metastasis is currently enrolling patients at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 6, 2019

Immunotherapy helping 87-year-old man stay on the job

Nine years after being diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, Roszell Mack Jr., 87, still goes into the office every day thanks to a durable response to the immunotherapy pembrolizumab.

By Tom Wilemon
November 29, 2018

Lung cancer survival signal

A receptor thought to be a cell growth inhibitor actually sends pro-survival signals in small cell lung cancer and is a candidate biomarker for poor prognosis.
By VUMC News and Communications
October 25, 2018

Combination therapy improves small-cell lung cancer survival

Patients with stage IV small-cell lung cancer lived longer when given the immunotherapy atezolizumab with chemotherapy, setting the stage for what could become the first new treatment approved in decades for this particularly aggressive form of lung cancer.
By Tom Wilemon
September 27, 2018

Team’s potential lung cancer therapy lands award from SBIR

A potential cancer drug aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of ionizing radiation in lung cancer patients is a step closer to development with funding support from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
By Tom Wilemon
August 16, 2018

A new target for lung cancer

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new vulnerability in lung cancer — the transporter protein xCT — that may a therapeutic target for the disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
June 14, 2018

Lung cancer patients and advocates visit VUMC research labs

A group of young lung cancer patients and their family members recently toured research laboratories at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) to learn how investigators are working to find better therapies and possibly a cure for the disease.
By VUMC News and Communications
May 29, 2018

New research finds lung cancer risk drops substantially within five years of quitting smoking

Just because you stopped smoking years ago doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods when it comes to developing lung cancer.  That’s the “bad” news. The good news is your risk of lung cancer drops substantially within five years of quitting.
By Bill Snyder
May 24, 2018

New method to thwart false positives in CT-lung cancer screening

A team of investigators led by Fabien Maldonado, MD, associate professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt, and Tobias Peikert, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, has identified a new technology to address false positives in CT-based lung cancer screening. The study was published in the latest issue of PLOS One.
By VUMC News and Communications
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